Ruger Redhawk .45 ACP / .45 LC Revolver Review

In this episode of TFBTV, James reviews Ruger’s new Redhawk that accepts both .45 Long Colt and .45ACP with the use of moonclips. With an MSRP of over $1000, is Ruger’s new iteration of the venerable Redhawk worth buying? James finds out.

Founder and Dictator-In-Chief of TFB. A passionate gun owner, a shooting enthusiast and totally tacti-uncool. Favorite first date location: any gun range. Steve can be contacted here.

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Turner

Looks like a fantastic revolver, but I’m still waiting for Ruger to come out with an 8 round .357 Redhawk. Please Ruger, please.

Nicks87

Ask and you shall receive. Ruger seems to be listening to the firearms community.

AC11

How about a DA .357/9mm revolver?

Lance

45 ACP….. Too wimpy get a .44 mag!!!

TDog

.44 Mag? Wuss! Get a .454 Casull! 😉

DW

Keyboard is what real non wuss operators use yo.

Art out West

That is why this gun shoots BOTH .45 ACP and .45 Colt! The .45 Colt can be loaded up to .44 mag power (when using a tough gun like the Redhawk – not older Colt SAA or New Service Revolvers). Why shoot a .44 mag (actually .429 mag) when you could shoot a .45 Colt “magnum”?

Don Ward

What? No one has said “It’s .45 Colt” yet?

*Feels smug*

James R.

Haha, I was waiting for this also.

Ryan

I have this revolver and paid just over $800. I went looking for a .44 mag but after reading up on +p .45 long colt I decided this would be more flexible. The +p loads are a whole other level of power. Most factory .45 lc is downloaded so as to not damage old saa’s. I already reload ACP, it’s much cheaper to practice with. I think the trigger could be better. Accuracy is ok but not stellar. That may be me. I’m not a revolver shooter. Good holsters are not available yet. I think I’ll have to have one made.

James R.

Thanks for the comment with your experience! These are the kinds of comments that enhance the review.

DIR911911 .

I would think this should drop right into a holster made for the 44 version

Art out West

That seems to be the advantage of this gun. 45 Colt can be loaded up to 44 Mag. power levels (when using a tough gun like a Ruger Redhawk). On the other hand, .45 ACP is cheaper than 45 Colt, 44 Mag., or 44 Special. The moonclips also give you the option of faster tactical reloads.
I might prefer this Redhawk to the 44 Mag version. Like somebody mentioned above, an 8 shot .357 version would also be nice. I know Ruger use to make a .357 version, but it wasn’t an 8 shot.

Zebra Dun

The only drawback is .45 Colt is harder to find (around here anyway) than the common .44 magnum, the .44 magnum ammo though that is most common is full power carbine ammo unless you can find the Mid Range lead load which after all the money fuss and muss gives you .45 Colt power and velocity.

Mr. Reviewer should have taken the time to chrono the .45 ACP ammunition-
There’s a reason the recoil is so light: short-cased ammunition doesn’t make power in long-chambered caliber cylinders.
That 820fps 230 FMJ you like in your Government Model? If it makes 600fps in your .45 Colt caliber revo, you’ll be lucky.
My Model 25 puffs out 230 factory at about 580fps, a very bad joke. But it does launch giant 255gr Buffalo Bore .45 Colt semi-wadcutters at 900+fps, which should give targets really bad jitters.
Should the Ruger actually launch ACP slugs at a respectable speed, I’ll be heading out the door to buy one.
I was hoping this vid would offer the truth, but not this time.

James R.

LOL. So dramatic.

First, bleed-off is beyond the scope of this review. I’m just giving my opinion of the shooting experience for this particular gun.

Second, it’d be one thing to infer that “the truth” wasn’t being presented if I recommended a .45ACP revolver for self defense over a .45 auto. So to imply that I am misleading anyone is, itself, misleading. Thanks for watching anyways.

Graham2

You’ve produced a good review here and it shows what to expect from one of these revolvers if you buy one. I’d love one but we can’t have them here in England unfortunately.

A chronograph session would obviously be nice at some stage, just to see what sort of difference it makes shooting .45 ACP out of a revolver and a semi auto pistol, compared to .45 Colt in a wheelgun. You could even throw in a lever action rifle to see how the ammo performs in a long gun.

Go on James, make it so!

James R.

Ha, I will see what I can do. I do need to invest in a chrono, I just already haul so much gear to the range for a film session (I am a one man operation in Louisiana). Thanks for watching.

Zebra Dun

I noticed that from shooting a .45 Colt in a S&W M-25-5 I currently own and the old chopped S&W .45 acp M-1917 I had. Both short barreled.
The recoil seemed much less as does muzzle blast.

Don Ward

I finally had a chance to watch this video. Great job James. As a wheelgun guy, I appreciate seeing this weapon in action. I dig the look of it.

James R.

Thanks, Don.

R

Thanks for the review. I just started searching for my first revolver and hadn’t considered one chambered in 45 ACP. Does anyone have any experience with this vs. the S&W Model 625?

James R.

I do. I used to have a 625, loved it. All other things being equal, it’s not even close in my opinion. The 625 gives you .45ACP *only*, whereas the Redhawk gives you the option to shoot .45LC, and does it well. If that is not important to you, then either will serve you very well. Thanks for watching.

Boogur T. Wang

Great video and great review.

James R.

Thank you, Mr. Boogur Wang.

DIR911911 .

what’s the point of printing every word said in the video? do we really need to read everything we just watched?

James R.

I defer to my editors, but I think there’s several reasons for it. It is a service that viewers apparently wanted badly enough that we actually pay for the transcript for each video.

Phil Elliott

Not all of us are able to listen to a video! So the transcript is a must, thank you guys for being there for EVERYBODY.

Zebra Dun

Some of us old geezers are hearing impaired and cannot make out the words sometimes. Even with them new fangled computer driven VA hearin’ aids.
Use hearing protection or lose your hearing young feller!

There are a bunch of competition oriented moon clip carriers. Even a simple speedloader pouch can often hold two loaded moon clips where a single speedloader would fit.

Zebra Dun

I owned a S&W M-1917 revolver in .45 acp once years ago, it had been chopped down to about a three inch barrel but was GI issue except for that and not worth collector value.
I foolishly swapped a Ruger Super blackhawk made in 1973 .44 mag for it, (kicking self in ast again) got $200.00 boot.
The S&W 1917 was good for about six inch pie plate accuracy at 30 yards the gun mod job wasn’t that well done.

The half moon clips were the main drawback in spite of the speed loader appeal.
The clips would bend, rounds would fall out or get stuck and if the bend wasn’t noticed it could and sometimes did jam the revolver, or slow down the trigger pull.
These were old WW2 issue clips so new clips may be better material.
Over all it was an interesting revolver to shoot, fun as all get out and a comfort in the bedside table at night. The engagement range was very short range.
I swapped it even, Steven, believe it or not for a Colt Lawman Mk III in .357 magnum with a friend from childhood, ( they said we were like fire and gasoline, Cars, guns, motorcycles, horses and gals LOL from 5 yrs old till 52 yrs old) we swapped various firearms with each other and back over the years, He met a guy who wanted one and had the money to perfect what the chop shop gun smith failed to do. He’s passed away now and I miss him I still have the Lawman I think of him every time I pick it up or shoot it.

Zebra Dun

An informative and interesting article and video for us .45 caliber fans, Thanks!

jcitizen

Meh! I like big bore belly guns – this one would be cool with a 2-1/2″ barrel!- And a rounded grip frame, like some of the rare S&W model 29s I’ve seen(and wished I owned)

Central PA USA

Great review. Recently purchased this revolver and absolutely love it. Mine shoots to point of aim with 230 grain 45 ACP and 225 gr Long Colt ammo. Federal HST standard pressure is my preferred carry round in 45 ACP, and Winchester 225 gr PDX1 in 45 Colt. It’s a sweet shooter, so if you are thinking about buying one, quit thinking and just do it! You won’t regret it.